In the Arms of the Beast (Kings of Hell MC 5)

Laurent glanced at the kitchen with a worried expression. “Thank you. But please take note that I tried.”

Beast had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. “I’m sure you’ll succeed next time. It’s the thought that counts.”

Laurent pulled Beast down for one more kiss, but then he was off. At least Knight had no stupid comment on hand this time.

“It’s good to see you two back together,” Knight said and patted Beast’s arm as soon as they were on their own, since the baby didn’t count.

Beast hummed and glanced at Knight with a peacockish smile. “Worth missing out on all that concrete action you messaged me about at night.”

The kitchen was airing fast, so Knight opened the door and sat on the floor next to Xavier. Beast wondered if such things would come to him with experience, or if his friend was just a natural with babies. “Oh, man… That hole is endless, the cement did absolutely nothing. I have high hopes for today, though.”

Beast scowled. “Yeah. I’m glad we didn’t tell Magpie what we were doing down there. He would have mocked us forever.”

“And I’m glad you didn’t get yourself arrested. You can’t be a good example for Marcel from behind bars.” Knight grinned at Xavier who woke up again. “No, no, no, your cousin would be so upset, right?”

Beast swallowed hard, watching Knight’s large hands touch the baby with incredible gentleness. “You’re so good at this. We might require your services, uncle.”

When Knight looked up, there was no more mockery in his smile. “You’ll be great too, Beast, I’m sure about it. You know who’s shit with babies? Elliot. He’s so freaked out. Won’t even touch Xavier. It’s so funny.”

Beast smirked. “Good thing he won’t have to face the dreadful fate of being a father then.”

But if Beast wanted to have a chance at fatherhood, they needed to bring down those trees.

Chapter 21 - Beast

Beast couldn’t have denied Magpie’s request to be present at the tree cutting, but perhaps having Gray and Shadow come too had been a mistake.

On one side of their gathering, on a throne underneath a large parasol, sat Magpie, blatantly avoiding any contact with the men who’d taken the Pigeon Heart for themselves. Laurent’s brooch was displayed on his clothes, glinting in the sun as if to remind Beast of the demon’s importance.

On the other side, Gray wouldn’t stop playing with his sunglasses, as if he needed an excuse to pretend his enemy number one wasn’t there. And then there was Shadow, whose bulky form was tucked under Gray’s arm, as if he needed protection from a bully.

It was middle school all over again.

Magpie had enough money and influence to ensure they wouldn’t be disturbed by an amateur environmentalist again. And if someone appeared to question their presence by the tree, they had the necessary documents. But while Beast was unwilling to hurt innocent locals for no reason, he would if push came to shove. It was the tree itself, and it corrosive sap, that posed a real threat.

The two machines Magpie had shipped here cast long shadows with their house-sized forms, and while they were the much-needed solution, Beast couldn’t help feeling like the two steel behemoths might come to life when touched by the demonic juices.

Gray cleared his throat, drawing Beast’s attention. He was frowning even as he patted Shadow’s head. “Are you absolutely certain we shouldn’t have a professional operating this? I’m not saying Knight can’t learn to do it, but this thing’s massive, and the saw’s bigger than a king-size bed.”

Knight stood close to the smaller piece of equipment, a huge harvester meant to hold the tree in place while the other vehicle’s chainsaw dove underground and cut the roots. He had the console used for remotely operating the thing in one hand and spoke about it to Joker.

“Would make sense, wouldn’t it?” Beast said, rubbing his forehead. “But we can’t exactly have some poor lumber worker see what this thing can do, can we?”

“Maybe I could do it?” Shadow offered, but Beast shook his head.

“You can’t even drive a car.”

Jake approached them with a beer in hand, nodding toward a large barbeque Fox, the resident grill master, had stacked with meats. A little outdoor party would improve everyone's morale, Beast supposed, even though his own thoughts kept hovering back to Laurent and Marcel.

Magpie had assured them the method would be safe, since the sap did not react with inorganic matter, but Beast still decided to start with the smallest of Baal’s trees. Once they were successful, the machines would have to move to one of the other locations, but he was positive the loss of even this one monster would be a blow to Baal’s cause.

The sun shone into Beast’s face from the cloudless sky, and its heat loaded his batteries, bright like Laurent’s smiles. There was a bit of dampness on some of the weeds, and it glinted in the golden light so beautifully that for a moment Beast felt regretful over Laurent being stuck at work. There couldn’t have been a better day for this job.